25 years of radical change

The news is all atwitter because .com names came into existence 25 years ago today. But it wasn't until 5 years later in 1990 that Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web – the only 'internet' that most people know – and made those .com names useful.

I remember seeing my first graphical web page at that time – a friend of mine at college had put up a little page about his department and had scandalously included his photograph. I was horrified, and the first words out of my mouth were, “this will never catch on.” Boy was I wrong.

At that time 'my' internet was a world of safe, opaque text. I'd have never dreamed of putting my photograph up on a web page for potentially anyone in the world to see. That thought frightened me because sharing something so personal with people I did not know seemed fundamentally wrong. But these days not it's not unusual for people to share much more than that on social networking sites.

I lecture my daughter weekly about the dangers of sharing too much on the 'net. She thinks I'm an old fogey.

But the W3 has changed us forever in many ways, particularly in the way we view privacy. We have gone from a people who jealously guarded our privacy and defended confidentiality to a people that no longer really even seem to understand those concepts. I consider that from time to time, and I don't really like it. I guess I am the old fogey that my daughter thinks I am.

Big Brother Is Watching vs Freedom and Integrity

I was shocked to learn that a school near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has been accused of cyber-spying on their students via the web cam in their Macbooks. This is a school whose district officials had bragged that they had given all 2,3000 of their high school students these laptops to "ensure that all students have 24/7 access to school-based resources."

Apparently some of those same School Officials had 24/7 access to the students as well in the form of web cam spying.

The Superintendent of the school district has since admitted that they do have the ability to spy via those web cams - in other words they can remotely activate the web cam on the sly allowing them to see a live image of whatever is going on in front of that camera as long as the computer is turned on. However the Superintendent of the School District is claiming that this 'feature' was for security purposes only - that it was to be used in case of computer theft.

Honestly, that is the lamest thing I've ever heard! Why didn't they instead keep the MAC addresses of those machines and track those electronically if the machine went missing?? I am incensed to think that anyone would believe that remote access to a web cam was good idea!! When would it EVER be okay to turn a computer that you are giving to children into a spying device that allows you to peek at them in their private quarters?

Ignorance is no excuse. I believe that most of the officials of the School District honestly believed that the spying 'feature' would never be used except in case of 'emergency' or theft. Still how could they ever approve this? Did they ever even consider how this system could be abused?

And what IT professional recommend such a thing? As IT professionals we all know that we have the ability to spy on people if we really wanted too. And some of the more deviant of us do. But for the most part folks in the IT industry are very careful to police themselves and maintain a high level of personal integrity when it comes to this kind of thing. Or maybe I'm dreaming. *sigh*

Parents only learned about the cyber-spying machines that had infiltrated their homes when an Assistant Principle called a student on the carpet for 'improper behavior' at his home.

This article from the Philadelphia News explains:

The family first learned of the embedded webcams on Nov. 11, when Harriton High's Assistant Principal Lindy Matsko reprimanded Blake Robbins for "improper behavior in his home," according to the lawsuit. Matsko cited as evidence a photograph from the webcam on the boy's school-issued laptop.

The lawsuit does not specify why the photograph was objectionable.

They were spying, in private homes!!! This should increase the blood pressure of every one of us who believes in the US Constitution and in our rights to fundamental freedoms.

And what exactly were those pictures of? That's the really frightening thing...

Honestly I am incensed over this issue and as far as I'm concern someone had better go to jail over this issue, including the IT 'pro' that set it up. It's not only wrong, it's just plain stupid.

Censorship vs Free Will

Partial Freedom is an oxymoron - but that's just want some people would like the internet to be: "Partially Free". I am greatly disturbed by the censorship of the 'net that has been taking place in China, and is now in beginning in Germany. This censorship in Germany is being done under the guise of making the internet safe for children. In China the Government just admits that it wants to control the information being distributed to their citizens. While China's attitude is disturbing, at least their admonition is refreshing.

This subject took me back some years as I recalled the formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. I remember the first time I read the Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace penned by the poet John Perry Barlow. Its inspiring words, shown in part below, brought tears to my eyes:

"Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather. ..."

"We are creating a world that all may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race, economic power, military force, or station of birth. ..."

"We are creating a world where anyone, anywhere may express his or her beliefs, no matter how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity. ..."

"We will create a civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more humane and fair than the world your governments have made before."

---John Perry Barlow

Noble thoughts expressed over a sometimes ignoble medium. But the truth is that Cyberspace is no more evil than the world in which we live, although the anonymity of the internet allows that which resides in the hearts of men to surface freely. But we can not be afraid! Where freedom reigns the truth can always be found. Censorship does not eradicate evil. Wrongdoing is only further obfuscated by censorship.

Yes, there are nasty, and evil places on the internet. There are also places of goodness, justice and truth. I'm not willing to allow any Government to decide for me which is which. In China, for instance, some Christian Web Sites have been banned.

Our Lord gave us Free Will. I'm not willing to let any Government take that away from me.

I will walk about in freedom,
for I have sought out your precepts.

I will speak of your statutes before kings
and will not be put to shame,

--Psalm 119:45-46

Makeup your own mind about Cyberspace! Here is some software that can help:

• XXX Church
• Parental Control Software

Google Street View

There are entire organizations built around the concern that Google violates personal privacy. I've perhaps been lax in my concern because I figure I don't do anything questionable anyway, so who cares if someone is watching me.

But I've been hearing a lot through the grapevine about Google Street View, the interactive mapping service that gives you a three dimensional pictorial view from certain streets in certain cities around the world.

Apparently they drive a car down streets with several cameras which take photographs every second or so. In this way you can 'tour' interesting places with Google Streetview.

Many of the same people who worry about Google's invasion of personal privacy also question whether or not it is ethical to take pictures of people and places without prior permission. And suddenly I have found msyelf to be one of those people.

See that little silver Yaris in the picture above? That's my car. They caught it as they drove by my Church taking pictures for Google Streetview. I wanted to see if they had a picture of our Church in Streetview. I was surprised to find /my/ car. I don't think I'd go so far as to say that it's a violation of my privacy, but I'm not sure I like it.

Now obviously I can't be too upset about it or I'd not post the picture on my blog. Being 'caught' at Church would not usually be considered to be a bad thing. But this photograph has given me pause for thought.

On occasion I run down to my mail box before I've showered or thoroughly brushed my hair, most often in strange attire. What if the Google Vehicle had been driving past my home right at that time? What if it passed by while I was on the street yelling at my dogs in that same strange attire? What if I were walking past some questionable place or with some questionable person, even in the most innocent of circumstances. What would these images - that do not belong to me - say about me, or the way I live?

These tiny slices of 360 degree life are stored for posterity somewhere on Google's servers, and suddenly I find that it's creeping me out.

In case you're wondering "What is Google Street View?" The wikipedia gives a decent definition.

What do to if you are concerned about Google Streetview and your home.

Is Big Brother Watching?

"If you give me six lines written by the most honest man, I will find in them something to hang him."

- The Infamous Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu

The issues of privacy, particularly on the Internet are being raised by many people around the world. It was once again brought to my attention by a very thoughtful article over at Ars Technica.

No one seems to care that our every day activities are under constant surveillance not only physically by security cameras but virtually as well. Information is collected in many ways: from information freely given on Social Networking Sites, to information gleaned invisibly and compiled via Internet searches. Whether we like it or not we give away our personal information in both purposeful and unintended ways. This information is then stored for future use by everyone from advertising agencies to Governmental organizations. And it's passed around indiscriminately.

I'm all about living transparently but if I do a Google search for pornography sites to block in my firewall I'd rather not have that be a criteria which advertisers will use to pigeon hole me with in the future.

Perhaps surprisingly the most vocal advocates for privacy rights in a digital age is the American Library Association. They ask: Is it time for a Revolution?

According to their Privacy Concept Paper:

"Librarians feel a professional responsibility to set the standard for intellectual privacy rights in America, at a time when virtually nothing is considered confidential."

They want America to commit to information privacy, and that's not such a bad idea. The ALA addresses the very American idea of Intellectual Freedom:

“Intellectual Freedom is the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause or movement may be explored. Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive and disseminate ideas.”—Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q & A

As Christians, and Americans these issues are something that we should feel passionate about.

I urge everyone to dedicate a little time to become familiar with Privacy Issues and a great place to start is the American Library Association.


Other Privacy sites and advocates:

• Dan Roth, Wired Senior Editor
• The Electronic Privacy Information Center
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
• US Senate Grapples with Privacy Issues - July 10, 2008